Iranian Actress Marzieh Vafamehr Escapes 90 Lashes for Film Role

Iranian Actress Marzieh Vafamehr Escapes 90 Lashes for Film Role

Article excerpt

Actress who was imprisoned for scene in which she doesn't wear a head covering is released from prison.

Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been released from prison without suffering the additionally decreed punishment of 90 lashes for her role in the Australian film My Tehran For Sale.

An Iranian appeal court reduced her imprisonment to three months and overturned the flogging sentence on Monday night.The charges related to her appearance in one scene without the mandatory head covering which women in Iran are required to wear and appearing to drink alcohol in another scene, a point her husband Nasser Taghavi denies.

"As filmmakers we believe in freedom of speech and support all artists who are imprisoned and punished in Iran for expressing themselves through their art. We admire their courage and the contribution they make to sharing with the world their truth about life for Iranian people," said Kate Croser and Julie Ryan of Cyan Films and producers of My Tehran for Sale. …